Looking for ideas for repurposing your glass recycling box?
If you live in East Sussex (not including Brighton) your recycling just got easier – you can now recycle everything in the same bin!
Great news for those early morning dashes to get the recycling out; you no longer need to separate glass from the rest of your recycling. It can all go in your main recycling bin! But what can you do with the glass recycling box that is no longer needed?
How to repurpose your glass recycling box
Use it for storage:
- Give it a quick clean and keep it indoors to pop your recycling in before transferring the contents to your recycling bin.
- Use it store items that aren’t collected at kerbside. Did you know that there is an organisation that collects materials not usually collected by your local council? TerraCycle uses drop off points to collect and recycle everything from crisp packets, pet food pouches, toothbrush heads, to pens. Once your box is full, take it to your nearest drop off site.
- Depending on the size of your car, you could keep it in the boot of your car for muddy wellies.
- Ask your local school if they could use the box as part of the upcycle project.
- Use it for messy play! Your kids can use it to play with mud, foam, slim, sand and other stuff you may not want in your house.
- Use it to store garden equipment and tools.
- Repurpose it for storage in your garage for items such as outdoor Christmas lights.
- During the summer it can feel like your garden is over taken by your children’s toys. You can use the box to help store them away and reclaim your space (even if it’s only for an evening).
Use it to help local wildlife:
- Use the box as a planter and create a herb garden to attract wildlife. All you need to do is drill some holes into the bottom of the box.
- Line it with some thick plastic and create a mini pond to help frogs, toads, newts and other pond animals.
- With some careful cutting, you could use it to create a place for hedgehogs to hibernate in between November and March. Hollie, from Polegate, used her glass recycling box to create one. You can see how she did it with step-by-step photos here: How to build a hedgehog house.
Your glass box will not be collected by district and borough councils, so if you really don’t wish to re-use the box, you can dispose of it at your local Household Waste Recycling Site.
Why are they doing this , we won’t have room for glass in our recycling bin ?.
Hi Jeremy. There is now the machinery in place to separate glass at the recycling centre, and working with their new contractor, Biffa, has meant district and borough councils can make recycling easier for residents by mixing recycling together. Flattening bottles, folding down cupboard etc can all help to ensure you have room in your bin. If you’re still struggling, you can place additional recycling in a plastic bag (not a black bin bag) next to your recycling bin or you could request an additional bin. Best wishes, Laura
Thank you, Laura.
However when I tried this on Monday, Biffa did not take the “additional recycling in a plastic bag (not a black bin bag) next to your recycling bin”. They left a note saying “side waste presented”. I left the additional recycling in a clear plastic bag to show all items were correct. In light of your comment above theres seems no reason not to have taken the items. Please advise. Can we really leave an extra bag? Best wishes, Phil
Hi Phil, sorry to hear that. If you let me know what area you are in I’ll see what I can find out from my colleagues in district and borough councils. You may wish to contact your local council as well so that they can investigate. Best wishes, Laura
I need a second green bin then. I have trouble closing the lid and that’s without the glass?????
Hi Hannah, sorry for the delay. This is something you’d need to contact your local district or borough council about. Best wishes, Laura
All our recycling bins in Icklesham were taken away yesterday. Will we get replacements. I would have like to have kept the glass bin.
Hi Carole, sorry for any confusion caused by this. Some crews did unexpectedly collect the old boxes at the end of the Kier contract. You may have neighbors that aren’t fussed about keeping their boxes, who may be happy to give you theirs? Best wishes, Laura
Sadly on the last day we used our blue bins, they were emptied and then removed – presumably by Biffa or the Council. The only ones left locally are with residents who didn’t put them out in time 🙁
Hi Russell, sorry to hear this. We are aware that some crews did collect the old boxes at the end of the Kier contract, which wasn’t planned. Best wishes, Laura
We received absolutely no notice of this whatsoever. I left the box out as usual and although it was collected, there was a note about “side waste presented’ – but then they took the lid to the black box, rendering it useless for anything. What was the point of that? Are you simply trying to create more plastic waste? Isn’t there enough already? I want the lid returned or replaced so that we can still get some use out of the plastic box which you seem so cheerfully ready to consign to landfill. Please arrange for its return today.
Hi Roff, we’re sorry to hear that the lid to your black box has gone missing. You’d need to contact your local district and borough council about this to see what can be done. Most of the ideas here don’t require the lid, so we hope that’s helpful. As a side note, our waste in East Sussex doesn’t go to landfill – it is sent to the Energy from Waste facility at Newhaven and converted into electrical energy – enough to supply 25,000 homes. Best wishes, Laura